'Dealerizing' Jumpin Jimmy's

EFFINGHAM, Ill. -- Jumpin Jimmy's owners are hoping that after sprucing up the sites, prospective buyers will jump at the chance to acquire what it considers to be some "really nice platforms" in central Illinois. Aving Rice LLC, the new management company of Jumpin Jimmy's, has announced that it will sell off the 35 convenience stores with gasoline, four surplus parcels and one liquor store in central Illinois.

"The stores were company-operated," Mark Raccuia, managing director of The Energy Exchange, which is handling the sale, told CSP Daily News. "The Niebrugge family started Jumpin Jimmy's years ago. About six or seven years ago, they sold to a hedge fund, and the hedge fund decided to get out of the oil and gas industry and sold it to Aving Rice, a subsidary of GasMart USA, which is 'dealerizing' the locations because they feel like these are really good units that will be even better units in the hands of an owner-operator. [Aving Rice] was put together to oversee and run the stores in the interim."

Its objective is to put these sites into the hands of "aggressive" owner-operators, while Aving Rice can reinvest the capital into purchasing new locations and to continue to grow the company.

Since Effingham, Ill.-based Aving Rice took over, it has cleaned up all of the units and has changed some of the product mix.

"All the stores are in the process of getting new ConocoPhillips imaging--new skins, and where necessary, new POS systems to be PCI compliant," Raccuia said.

"Our company is committed to finding new owner operators and supporting them in their own business," said David George, Aving Rice president. "We have an aggressive strategic growth plan for our company and that involves selling these stores to business-savvy individuals."

As reported in a Morgan Keegan/CSP Daily News Flash yesterday, Aving Rice is offering the stores in a sealed-bid auction to be coordinated by The Energy Exchange of Chicago, which specializes in the sale of c-stores and gas stations. Bidders will be required to sign a 15-year fuel supply agreement. In addition, the seller will be offering bidders a financing incentive by holding a 15% second mortgage on the properties.

"For the dealer, it will be a 15-year agreement with rebates for all 15 years. Not every jobber is offering such a nice supply agreement," said Raccuia.

The auction's deadline is June 5, 2012.

To obtain a list of the available stores, contact The Energy Exchange at (866) 906-7499 or
www.energy-xchange.com.

Plunge in oil prices sets the stage for record margins and boost in in-store sales. Also In This Issue: Profitability skyrockets for top performers! Other channels seek to redefine convenience! The economy enters a new stage. The growing health-and-wellness trend. Fuel demand; oil's slide; multicultural momentum; and data, data, data!

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